The HBCU AI Conference & Training Summit held at Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas, was one of the earliest AI-themed events of 2026.
This spring event centered on artificial intelligence, ethics, and preparation for the workforce for both students and faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Emphasis was placed on responsible AI innovation, digital ethics, and student career mobility, with activities comprising hands-on machine learning workshops, policy panels, and student innovation showcases.
Taunya A. Lowe, who went to the conference and is the CEO of the Resurgent Group of Metro Atlanta, LLC, stated that AI tools are changing very quickly.
As a new technology entrepreneur creating human-centered, AI-powered learning experiences, one of the most inspiring aspects of the conference was the enthusiasm displayed by both students and faculty as they embraced this period of change.
More recently, the United Negro College Fund organized UNITE, an annual conference concerned with the future of higher education and aimed at strengthening HBCUs as well as minority-serving institutions.
One of the sessions at that event dealt with HBCUs, artificial intelligence, and the next decade of higher education.
Valora Richardson, the founding CEO of Destined Innovations LLC, said that at UNCF UNITE 2026 they presented "Embedding AI in HBCU Strategy Without Losing Soul," a discussion about what it means for HBCUs to use artificial intelligence in a strategic way while staying true to the people, culture, purpose, and communities that define HBCUs.
Also in July, the first HBCU CIO Exchange: Ideas, Innovation & Impact conference took place at Alabama State University.
This executive-level event gathered higher education technology leaders, chief information officers, and industry partners including Salesforce, AWS, Amazon, Google, Workday, and Deloitte in order to promote digital development across historically Black colleges and universities.
At the end of July, the Center for Equitable Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Systems at Morgan State University hosted the annual National Symposium on Effective and Ethical AI.
The event brings together technologists, researchers, policymakers for reflection on AI's past, present, and future, with special attention to the mission of making AI useful, safe, and beneficial for all.
The presentations examined human-AI interaction across various real-world application areas, different types and models of agents and agency (including human, AI, collaborative, and others), the Arts (such as Authorship, Originality, Copyright), robotics, therapy (for example, cyberpsychology), as well as cultural aspects and their implications.
AI NextGen America will look at how AI and new technologies are changing workforce needs.
North Carolina Central University will be hosting the HBCU Innovation Summit on September 4.
The full-day summit will bring together students, educators, leaders, and partners to examine how AI literacy can influence leadership, innovation, and impact within the HBCU ecosystem.
In a special feature in IEEE Spectrum magazine, Siobhan Day, who obtained a PhD in computer science from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, speaks about launching the first AI research institute at an HBCU in January 2025.
Google recently gave the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Research a million dollars, an amount that has enabled Grady and her team to establish a university-wide AI initiative, launch new academic programs, organize conferences, obtain external support, and create research opportunities.
The article also notes that the institute received a nearly $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to assist in defining AI jobs, identifying in-demand skills, and guiding future credentials and curricula.
Career Communications Group's upcoming AI NextGen America conference will focus on the theme: 'The Future Is Hiring'.
AI NextGen America will look at how artificial intelligence and new technologies are changing workforce needs in healthcare, financial technology, cybersecurity, energy, data centers, manufacturing, maritime and shipbuilding. digital infrastructure, and entertainment.
The event over two days will gather employers, educators, government officials and workforce organizations.
The conference features a range of sessions including the Workforce Summit, Hiring Forum, Career Expo, Future Skills Institute, Teacher Workforce Institute, Veterans Workforce Forum, and the Innovation Festival.
The conference will look at the skills that employers need in the AI era, the new job roles that are appearing, and explain how education, training providers, workforce organizations, and the government can assist people in preparing for these new opportunities.
The event features the Futurist Awards, which award the title of Futurist of the Year.